The exterior of the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève in Paris (1850) was the inspiration for the Boston City Library but the interiors of the two buildings could hardly be more different. The Paris library pictured here consists of a single great reading room, constructed over book-stacks below. Its dominating feature was a delicately detailed iron roof reminiscent of the railway station interiors being constructed at the time all over Europe. The library, by architect Henri Labrouste, is an intriguing fusion of modern technology with classical design.